Tag Archives: Ageism

I felt a blog coming on when I read a news item today about a bestselling French author and film director, who is 50 years old. This man told Marie Claire magazine that he could never love a woman aged 50 or over, because he prefers the bodies of younger women aged around 25. He states that the body of a 25 year old woman is ‘extraordinary’, and the body of a 50 year old is ‘not extraordinary’ and regards them as invisible.

I looked him up on Google. Rather unsurprisingly he does not seem to be married. I assume that working in the film industry where the young and beautiful pout and prance about obviously seems to have warped his mind.

In my opinion this man’s statements say a lot about his personality. It says that he views women as air-heads and sex objects or arm/eye candy to be used just for his personal gratification and then discarded when their youth has passed. He obviously has no interest in probing the mature minds of middle-aged women who have gained much wisdom through life experiences. He assumes that all women aged 50 or over are unattractive because they are post-menopausal or have let themselves go.

This also made me wonder… what do younger women think about middle-aged men of 50 and over? Have 50 year old men let themselves go? I would say that yes, some have, but others look after themselves and remain attractive. You cannot tar every 50 year old with the same brush.

Would a 25 year old woman want to date an ordinary 50 year old man who is not a bestselling author and film director? Yes of course, just as sometimes younger men want to date older women, because they see them not as bodies to be ogled, but people in their own right with opinions to be respected.

I like a lot of 50 year old men – just not him! To me he is very unattractive, and I’m not just talking about his body here…

I am almost sixty too, just like Ms Seymour. I returned to work in 1994 at the age of nearly 37 after staying at home to look after my boys. I chopped and changed jobs in the next few years without any problems, until I found the one that suited me the most – a medical secretary in my local NHS hospital.

The NHS took me on at the age of 44, after I voluntarily left my previous job. I was promoted over the years and gained experience in several departments until I took early retirement in 2014 due to side-effects of treatment for thyroid cancer. I eventually ended up 2 grades higher than when I started. Probably about 90% of the secretaries there were ladies in their fifties – free of childminding duties and willing and able to start at 8am and work past 3pm. I can actually say that I never came across ageism when I was a medical secretary at all. Even now my ex-manager often sends me emails and asks if I would like to return to work as a bank secretary to cover for holidays and sickness.

The NHS put up with my frequent hospital appointments when I was initially diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and my colleagues always welcomed me back after time off due to major surgery. I cannot fault the NHS at all as an employer. I now receive a pension. I know that some people in their fifties do experience ageism in the workplace, but I just wanted to write about the other side of it.

When I went for one particular interview just before I returned to work in 1994, I was told that the company never takes on women of childbearing age. It did cross my mind to wonder why they had invited me for an interview in the first place, but I’ve since learned that companies do have to interview a range of prospective employees to make their documentation look good. I actually found it more difficult to get that first job when I was of childbearing age and after 12 years at home. The older I became, the more easily I was able to find employment.

I can actually say that I’ve never experienced ageism at work, but was definitely discriminated against in my childbearing years a few times in the 3 years it took me to find a job and return to the workplace.

Have you experienced ageism in the workplace? I’d love to read your comments!